Well, it is hard to believe that a whole week has already passed since we made it to Gvozdov, Ukraine. This was most definitely one of our busiest and challenging week. The main factor that attributed to this was my sickness for the first half of the week. As I mentioned before, I became ill with Bronchitis on Sunday night and was on bed rest till Wednesday. To the glory of God, the medicines and rest worked well and I was back to health by Thursday to work in the camp the last two days. It was such a blessing to see how much the people here cared for me and they were so happy to finally see me out of bed! Ilya too was ill for a day so pretty much for the rest of the week, we keep on hearing how glad people in Gvozdov are to hear that the "two Americans" are not sick anymore! :)
The camp itself was a great success. It was very well planned and thought through by the local Ukrainian camp leaders. I was very impressed to see how detailed the plans for the camp were. The mornings began with Morning Assembly/Devotions for all the camp leaders at 9am. This meeting included singing, testimonies, preaching, praying, and preparation for the day of camp. After this, we made our way to the local Gvozdov school were the camp was hosted. Once the children arrived, music time lasted about 20 to 30 minutes. This was followed by Bible time which included two different activities. First, the children would go from Bible station to Bible station where they heard a Bible story from various Bible characters each somehow relating to Jesus Christ. I got to participate with this on Thursday telling the children about Jesus coming before Pilate. Secondly, Bible time included a whole 45 to 1 hour time of individual Bible teaching for each age group. There were three different age groups and each group had two leaders assigned to work with this children during this time of Bible. After Bible time, it was Game Time! :) Ilya and Ina (one of the local girls) were incharge of this time. We played a variety of sports and relay games including dodgeball, volleyball, soccer, watergames, shoe relays, etc. The kids absolutely loved this time of fun which lasted about an hour and a half. After another large group assembly, we dismissed the kids for lunch. After lunch, starting around 3pm was Craft time. This was followed by some free time outside or inside. Finally, each day ended with an hour and a half long Church service. The service included singing, specials, skits, group presentations, preaching/teaching, and prayer time. I had the opportunity to preach/teach the last lesson of the week which was about the Resurrection and presenting the Gospel. Olenka did an awesome job translating and the children were very attentive. We had 53 children total attend camp this week! It was truly a blessing and lots of seeds were planted.
Each evening this week was spent in youth evangelism. We played volleyball and soccer with lots of youth of the village as a way to get them to come fellowship with us. After playing for several hours, we would make a campfire and sit around to sing and share testimonies. Each night, we also played a different game that got everyone involved and having a good time. There was also a special devotional/preaching time each evening were the youth were challenged to come to God and follow His ways. I had the opportunity to share my testimony on Thursday and share a Gospel illustration. It was a blessing to see how our ministry impacted several of the youth who came each night.
The week was also spent in visiting homes and touring the village of Gvozdov. This was the home village of the Dolzhanskiy family back when they were in Ukraine. Thus, after 10 years of being in the USA, it was special for them to be back in the village where they grew up as kids. I enjoyed hearing all their interesting and funny stories about their childhood in this village. One of the highlights of the week, actually happened today. I went swimming at one of the local lakes here in Gvozdov. It felt so good to get in the nice cold water during such a hot day!
Well, this gives you all a short update about our week here in Gvozdov. Tomorrow, we will be ministering in the local church doing our usual specials, singing, playing, and preaching. Please pray for us and for all the people who will be there just to hear the "Americans" who came to the village (who are not saved). We greatly appreciate your prayers and support! God bless.
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